


What Came Before

by beautifuldisaster21



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fugaku Uchiha-centric, Fugaku-centric, Uchiha Fugaku-centric, other people's thoughts will be shown as well, though fugaku is the main character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28511892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifuldisaster21/pseuds/beautifuldisaster21
Summary: Before he and the rest of the Uchiha were massacred, Uchiha Fugaku was once a child.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Fugaku stared up at his jounin-sensei: the legendary White Fang, Hatake Sakumo. He'd heard many tales about the man _―_ who hadn't? _―_ and was slightly intimidated by the man's presence. Scratch that, he was incredibly intimidated by Sakumo. After all, this was the same man who was said to be more powerful with the Sannin themselves. Armed by his wolf summons (something akin to the now nearly-gone Hatake Clan) and White Chakra Blade (an heirloom, Fugaku presumed), he was one of the most dangerous shinobi in Konoha.

This, of course, did not help Fugaku relax. He was sure that Sakumo would hate him. After all, he was the White Fang, and Fugaku was, in the words of not only his younger sister but also his peers and even some of his clansmen, just a crybaby Uchiha. Fugaku could practically feel the disappointed look that he was convinced he would be the victim of.

The fact that his teammates would be Nakamura Ryuuka and Sato Hikaru only complicated matters further. He had never really interacted with either of them in the academy, but he definitely knew a lot about each of them. Hikaru was charismatic and lively, which made him incredibly popular with their peers, especially the females. Fugaku thought that he was rather attractive, with his dusty orange hair and strange magenta eyes. His other teammate, Ryuuka, was an aggressive and talented kunoichi. She was best friends with Uchiha Mikoto, another aggressive and talented kunoichi who just so happened to be Fugaku's kinsmen. Ryuuka was the type of girl who'd beat him up easily. Fugaku was scared of her, even more so than he was of Mikoto, who would never seriously injure the clan heir. Ryuuka, on the other hand, had no such inhibitions. To say he was terrified would be an understatement.

"Should we introduce ourselves?" Hikaru asked.

"Yes," Sakumo said. "Tell us your likes and dislikes and your goals for the future."

"I'll go first," Hikaru said. "I'm Sato Hikaru, and I like natto and being around people. I dislike being alone and not being able to talk to anyone. My goal for the future is to become a strong ninja!"

"That's very nice," the white-haired man said approvingly. The orange-haired boy's introduction was relatively normal. That was good. "What about you?" he said, pointing to Ryuuka.

"My name is Nakamura Ryuuka, and I enjoy training and being a ninja. I dislike those who abandon their families. My goal for the future is to become a good ninja and find a particular someone."

Fugaku was a little confused when he heard it. Who was Ryuuka referring to? He knew that she didn't have a father, so maybe she was talking about him.

"And you?" Sakumo asked, gesturing to Fugaku.

"Oh! My name is Uchiha Fugaku, and I like training and dango and other sweet things. I dislike sour foods. My goal for the future...is to become a good leader for the Uchiha."

The last part was said with a bit of uncertainty. Fugaku wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be the leader of the Uchiha clan. For one thing, he wasn't really much of a leader. He was sensitive and shy, completely the opposite of what a good leader should be. He didn't think he'd ever become a commanding, domineering person.

"You guys all seem to have...interesting personalities," Sakumo said.

"Wait! Aren't you going to introduce yourself too?" Ryuuka asked pointedly.

"Oh, right. Well, my name is Hatake Sakumo. I like training and spending time with my loved ones. I dislike those who turn on their comrades. My dream for the future...well, I want to help you guys become the best ninja you can be."

"That's cool," Hikaru said.

"Tomorrow, we'll do a team-building exercise so we can see each other's strengths and differences," Sakumo said. "You guys are dismissed for today!"

* * *

"And then Sakumo-sensei started telling us about an exercise we would have to do tomorrow. For 'team-building,' or something," Ryuuka said. "What about you? Who's your jounin-sensei?"

"I have Ichika-sensei," Mikoto answered. "She's pretty cool. My genin teammates aren't that bad either. I have Fujioka Takuma and Hyuuga Hizashi."

"Lucky," Ryuuka said. "You got Hizashi. He's the better one out of the Hyuuga Twins. And you have Takuma."

"I am pretty lucky, aren't I?" Mikoto said a little smugly. Takuma was an attractive young man who had been incredibly popular in their academy class. Both she and Ryuuka had small crushes on Takuma, though neither of them realized it.

"I got stuck with Hikaru and Fugaku," Ryuuka said. "Hikaru's annoying, and Fugaku is a loser. It sucks that they're my teammates."

"You got Fugaku, huh? That's really sad," Mikoto said. "He's really sensitive and a total loser. I should know; I've known him since I was little."

It was true. Fugaku was a sensitive child, who was entirely too self-conscious and shy. Mikoto didn't like the young clan heir very much. He was younger than her by a few months, and certainly not as strong as her. He was shorter, less muscled, and less tough than she was. Frankly, he was a bit of a wimp - a crybaby. Everyone knew; many of the Uchiha gossiped about the clan heir and his sensitivity. It didn't make any sense that he would be the one that would be the Clan Leader when he came of age. In all honesty, she would much rather have his younger sister Kumiko taking the mantle than Fugaku. Despite their one-year age difference, she was braver and bolder than he would probably ever be.

"Oh, there's my house! I'll see you later, Mikoto!" Ryuuka called as she bounded down to her home. She gave one last wave before going inside. Mikoto waved back before going on her way to her own home. Once she finally arrived, she was greeted by her mother, Natsuki.

"How was your day?" she asked, a pile of laundry in her arms.

"Good," Mikoto answered. "My jounin-sensei's really cool. Her name's Ichika-sensei, and she said she'd show me a new jutsu that she's been working on."

"And your teammates?" her mother asked.

"Oh, I got Hyuuga Hizashi and Fujioka Takuma," Mikoto said.

"Hizashi...that boy is the second-born son of the Hyuuga Clan Leader, isn't he?" Natsuki said thoughtfully.

"Yeah...in my opinion, he should be clan heir, since he's so much better than that stupid Hiashi," Mikoto said.

"Oh, Mikoto, don't say that! I'm sure Hiashi isn't _that_ bad," Natsuki said. Mikoto gave her a pointed look. She had told her mother many times about Hiashi and the latest idiotic thing he'd done. She had always hated Hiashi - he was arrogant, stuck-up, and a complete brat. Mikoto thought him to be unfit for the role as heir to one of the most powerful and influential clans in Konoha. She thought that Fugaku would be terrible at being a clan leader, but at least he was kind and thoughtful. Hiashi was just straight up cruel, something a clan leader definitely _shouldn't_ be.

"Mama, if you knew him, you would know how awful he really is," Mikoto said. "Anyways, where's Akane?"

Akane was her little sister, and she was two years younger than Mikoto. She was still currently enrolled in the academy. Akane was very similar to Mikoto, in both looks and personality. They looked nearly identical, save for their respective heights (Mikoto was incredibly tall for her age while Akane was merely of average height) and hairstyles. They were both reckless and extroverted, though Mikoto was more vindictive and Akane more kind.

"She hasn't come home yet," Natsuki said.

"That's weird. Academy should be over already," Mikoto noted.

"She's probably talking to one of her friends and didn't see the time," Natsuki said. Mikoto hoped that she was right.

She wasn't.


	2. found

It was half past four when Fugaku found Akane.

He was on his way to the grocery store. His little sister, Kumiko, had yelled at him that they had run out of milk and basically forced him out the door. Fugaku walked through the streets of the Uchiha compound to find the grocery store owned by two elderly Uchiha civilians. They were always kind to him and greeted him with a smile every time they saw him.

On his way there, he heard a strange noise that sounded like a scream. It was coming from outside the Uchiha compound, Fugaku realized. Quickly, he ran to see what was going on. He was greeted with the sight of a young girl fighting against a group of boys. He recognized the girl as Uchiha Akane, the younger sister of Mikoto. However, he had no idea who any of the boys were; the only thing he knew was that they were definitely _not_ Uchiha.

The boys and Akane seemed to be having a fight. Akane tackled a boy to the ground, while another pulled her off. A third boy kicked her, and he received a punch in the stomach in return. He was sure there was biting involved, though he was unaware of whose side it was on. The fight itself was very rough and dirty - no tactical skills used at all. It was just a series of punches and kicks and the occasional hair-pull.

Fugaku, who hated unnecessary violence, yelled, "Hey, stop!"

The children, however, did not listen to him and continued on with their fight. Fugaku had no choice but to go in and stop the fight himself. He carefully tried to pry the kids apart, effectively receiving a kick to the shin and an elbow to the side. Fortunately for him, the kids stopped fighting.

Akane gasped when she realized who he was. "Fugaku? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was just passing by when I saw you guys fighting," Fugaku explained. "Why were you guys fighting, anyways?"

"They started it," Akane accused, pointing to the boys.

"She's lying," one of the boys said. "She hit us first!"

"I only hit you first because you called me names!" Akane retorted.

"Guys, don't fight!" Fugaku yelled. Then, he turned to Akane and said, "Let's go home now."

She begrudgingly followed him out, but she did flick her tongue out at the boys first. They stuck their tongues out as well.

As the two of them of them were walking, Fugaku asked quietly, "What did they call you?"

"What?" Akane said, confused.

"What names did those boys call you? You said that they called you names, and that's why you hit them," Fugaku said, a little louder this time.

This immediately brought a scowl to Akane's face. "They were making fun of me because I'm an Uchiha," she said. "They were saying things about my eyes and about how I was an Uchiha."

Fugaku didn't know what to say. He knew that the villagers weren't always kind to the Uchiha - perhaps out of fear, though Fugaku could hardly see why anyone would be scared of his clan. Yes, his clan produced many of history's greatest warriors, but it had many civilians as well, like the kindly old people who had a little shop. It was strange to think that those civilians could ever be dangerous in any way.

"Do you know the way to your home?" he asked.

"Of course I do," she said. "I'm not stupid."

Fugaku went with her anyways, so as to make sure she was really okay. They quickly found themselves at the door of Akane's home. Fugaku rung the bell and was answered by Mikoto.

"Akane!" she said. "Where have you been all this time?"

"She got jumped by some boys and was fighting them," Fugaku explained.

Mikoto side-eyed him. "And what was your role in this?" She was skeptical of him. She didn't think he had it in him to jump anyone, but then again, she could've been wrong.

"He helped me," Akane explained.

"Oh," Mikoto said. "Well, I suppose that I should thank you."

"It's alright," Fugaku quickly said, his cheeks slightly reddening at the compliment. "I didn't really do much."

"Well, alright then," Mikoto said, hand on the doorknob. "Goodbye."

"You too!" Fugaku said, before the door closed on him. He left the home, walking until he got to his own house. It wasn't too far away, so he got there relatively quickly. When he opened the door of his own house, he was greeted by the angry face of his sister.

"Unbelievable!" Kumiko said. "I told you to do _one_ thing, to get milk, and then you have the gall to come home without it!"

* * *

Fugaku's team, called Team One, met the next morning. He was the first one there, though Sakumo came only a few short minutes later.

"Hello, Fugaku-kun," he greeted kindly.

"Hi, Sakumo-sensei," Fugaku replied. "How are you?"

"Good, good," the older man said. "Are you ready for today's training exercise?"

 _Not really_ , Fugaku thought, but he said, "Yes," anyway.

They moved into an awkward silence, neither of them saying anything. Fugaku was slightly self-conscious when he realized that Sakumo was watching him, almost as if he was analyzing every movement he made. The Uchiha was sure he'd do something wrong - he almost always did.

Finally, Sakumo broke the silence, saying: "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, go ahead," the boy replied.

"What...what do you know about the Sharingan?" the older man asked.

Fugaku took a moment to think it over. "I know that it's a very prized dojutsu," he said. "A lot of the Uchiha don't have it, but everyone with Uchiha blood has the chance to awaken theirs."

"Do you have one yet?" Sakumo asked.

The Uchiha shook his head. "I don't think so...I don't recall ever awakening it."

(He was wrong, of course, for he'd awakened his Sharingan a few years ago after witnessing an incredibly traumatic event, but he was not aware of the fact yet.)

"Ah...I see," Sakumo said, and they moved into an awkward silence once again.

Not long after, Ryuuka and Hikaru came to the training grounds. Ryuuka was scowling as usual, seeming perpetually angry with the world. Hikaru had the opposite expression; he was smiling as if he had just gotten promoted. Then again, he was always smiling like that.

"Yo," Hikaru greeted.

"Hello," Ryuuka said.

Sakumo clapped his hands together, looking around at each of his subordinates. "Now that we're all here, we should get started on our team exercise for today."

Fugaku watched as the older man began setting up something in the training grounds. Sakumo used a variety of tools and objects to do so, all of them forming strange combinations when paired together. This didn't seem like a normal teamwork exercise. Watching him, Fugaku had only one thought.

_What was he planning on doing?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this was a really boring and poorly-written chapter. I just didn't know where else to go with it, but the next chapter will be better. This was one was kind of a transition chapter - nothing too important happened yet.


End file.
